Feds 'Reverse Course,' Kick MN State Investigators Off Of Deadly ICE Shooting Case

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Minnesota’s top state investigators have been removed from the investigation into a fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis after federal authorities abruptly took sole control of the case, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed during an encounter with ICE agents while driving her Honda Pilot on Portland Avenue. She was a U.S. citizen.

In a statement released Thursday, BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said the agency was initially asked to jointly investigate the Jan. 7 shooting alongside the FBI after a woman was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel.

Evans said that the decision was made after consultation with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the FBI. The BCA’s Force Investigations Unit responded to the scene and began coordinating investigative work.

Later that same afternoon, however, the FBI informed the BCA that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had reversed course. Federal officials decided the investigation would be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer be given access to case materials, physical evidence, or investigative interviews.

Without full access, Evans said the BCA could not meet Minnesota’s investigative standards or the expectations of the public.

"As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation," Evans said.

The BCA Force Investigations Unit was created by the Minnesota Legislature in 2020 to provide independent and consistent investigations of deadly force incidents involving law enforcement officers. The unit was established following years of public scrutiny and bipartisan legislative action after the Deadly Force Encounters Working Group.

Evans said Minnesotans have made clear they expect transparency and independence when deadly force is used by law enforcement in the state, and that those goals cannot be achieved without full cooperation and clear jurisdiction.

The BCA said it expects the FBI to conduct a thorough investigation and to share the full investigative file with appropriate state and federal prosecutors.

Evans added that if federal officials reconsider and allow a joint investigation, the BCA is prepared to reengage in the case.

Good was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado who had recently moved to Minnesota.

She was the mother of three children from two prior marriages. Her oldest children are now teenagers, and her youngest son is 6 years old. The boy’s father died in 2023

Her ex-husband told the Associated Press that on Wednesday morning, Good had just dropped off her 6-year-old son at school and was driving home with her current partner when they encountered a group of ICE agents on a snowy Minneapolis street.

Video taken by bystanders shows ICE officers approaching Good’s vehicle, demanding she open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle began to move forward, a different officer standing in front of the SUV drew his weapon and fired at least two shots at close range.

The vehicle later crashed into parked cars.

Good’s partner can be heard crying in a separate video taken after the shooting, screaming “That’s my wife, I don’t know what to do!”

Good described herself on social media as a writer, poet, wife, and mother. She studied creative writing at Old Dominion University in Virginia and had previously worked as a dental assistant and at a credit union. In recent years, family members said she had primarily been a stay-at-home parent.

Her mother, Donna Ganger, told the Minnesota Star Tribune that she was "one of the kindest people I’ve ever known."

"She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being."

RELATED:

• Minneapolis Schools Cancel Classes After Border Patrol Detains Outside Roosevelt High
• Minneapolis Mayor Accuses Feds Of Lying After Viewing Video Of Fatal ICE Shooting Of Woman
• ICE Shooting Victim A Mom Who Leaves Behind A 6-Year-Old Child: Reports

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.